


The Way The Years Go

by starstruck1986



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-23
Updated: 2013-03-23
Packaged: 2017-12-06 05:36:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/732020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starstruck1986/pseuds/starstruck1986
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Contents/Warnings: Angst, UST, smoking, piercings, tattoos, swearing, manlove, snarky men.<br/>Summary: With new beginnings come new adventures..</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Now, Severus, you will behave yourself, won't you?”  
  
The sound of Minerva McGonagall's chastisement was like nails on a chalkboard to Severus. He glared at her and said nothing.  
  
“Do try to keep him in line, won't you, Charlie?”  
  
Severus had never bothered to count which Weasley child Charlie was, but it didn't matter as the man sniggered and caused fury to spark in Severus' blood. He was on the way to hell, he had decided the evening before, as he had sullenly packed his suitcase and filled half of it with miniature bottles of whisky. Hell was a school trip with Pomona “let me love you” Sprout and Charlie “can't teach for doxy faeces” Weasley. That was _before_ he even got to the dunderheads they were actually taking away.  
  
Hogwarts had never indulged in the idea of school trips until Charlie Weasley had relieved Hagrid as the Care of Magical Creatures professor. Severus didn't care, so he had never bothered to ask why the redhead had given up his glamorous job of dragon keeping to teach the dim masses of the British Wizarding population's ilk. He really didn't care, but he still thought that the boy was mad.  
  
“I'm sure I can keep him away from the bar,” Charlie said assuringly. “Though from all the clinking that's coming from his suitcase, I think he's taking one with him anyway.”  
“If there are any problems, you must get in contact.”  
“We will,” Sprout and Weasley chorused together, like dutiful children.  
“I so hope this goes well... it's a marvellous new chapter for the school, I think. Muggle schools do this often and to great effect. I just hope everyone makes it home in one piece.”  
“I know my way around that reserve like the back of my hand,” Charlie promised. “Everyone will survive and we'll all be home next weekend safe and sound.”  
  
Severus nearly vomited as he saw the affectionate, motherly look that their headmistress bestowed upon her newest teaching recruit. It was blatant favouritism, he decided, looking down at the case at his feet.  
  
“Let's get on with this hell then,” he said, through gritted teeth, and bent to pick the case up by the handle.  
“Don't hurt your back, Snape, what with your portable distillery,” Charlie advised, and tossed him a wink as he strode off, stuffed backpack already in place on his broad, muscled back.  
  
***  
“Corker! If you do that again you'll find yourself returning to Hogwarts faster than you can blink,” Severus snapped at the fifth year, who was taunting the girl he very clearly had a fancy for by pulling the back of her bra strap and letting it snap painfully against her back. “And you, Worthing, if you don't stop him the next time he does that, you'll be joining him.”  
  
The girl shot him a doleful look. Severus recognised the look in her eyes -it was one of frustration and one of pain. She was often picked on by the others for her quietness and pale skin. Severus mostly ignored her like he had taken to ignoring the rest, but he knew they had nicknamed her 'The Vampire'.  
  
“Stand up for yourself, girl,” he muttered at her, before turning and walking to where Sprout and Weasley stood, waiting for the hotel assistant to come back.  
  
Severus had partaken in several sharp barbs and horrible names over his years, but the war had mellowed him. He still had a sharper tongue than a razor, and most students didn't dare to cross him, but he was not as acidic as he had once been, such as when Charlie Weasley himself had been at school, or when Potter had been a pupil.  
  
“Why must they take so long?” he said irritably, looking at Weasley for an answer.  
  
Charlie shrugged. “Fuck knows. Either way, you're in here now and not out there in that.” He jerked his head back to the entrance doors, where rain pounded the pavement outside. “We were lucky to get out of the Portkey station so quick. It's hell once everyone tries to start getting out of there.”  
  
Severus said nothing and looked away. The whole reason he was on the blasted, ridiculous, foolish trip was entirely Weasley's fault and he didn't intend on sharing any pleasantries. A school trip, Minerva had proclaimed, at the Romanian dragon reservation to give the pupils a chance to see dragons up close and study them, as well as visiting the site's ample apothecary and brewing station, and to see several native plants of the country in forestry surroundings. The reserve would never have agreed without Weasley's involvement.  
  
“Is this like coming home for you, Charlie?” Pomona asked, her voice laced with sickly kindness that made Severus roll his eyes. “Do you miss it?”  
“I do... I don't miss the early rises, late nights and basic rations though.”  
“Did you leave anybody special behind here?” the older woman probed; all of the female staff of Hogwarts were terribly obsessed with their shiny new Weasley toy, Severus had found. “Will you be sloping off at night to romance somebody? We don't mind, you know, we can manage perfectly by ourselves.”  
“Speak for yourself,” Severus said. “ _I_ mind. Three isn't enough to manage this mob so two definitely isn't.”  
“Don't mind Severus, he's been forced out into daylight. That always makes him irritable.”  
  
Charlie laughed again and Severus wondered if he'd get away with slipping something unpleasant into the man's drink. Luckily for Charlie, however, the receptionist was heading towards them. Unluckily for Severus, she was wearing a rather grim expression.  
  
“I am so sorry,” the woman began in a heavy Romanian accent. “There was an accident with your booking. We are one room short for your party and the hotel is otherwise completely booked. One of you will have to share with another.”  
  
She looked between the three of them apologetically whilst Severus felt his hackles rise even further. Clearly, neither he nor Weasley could share with the only woman in their adult group. They would have to share together.  
  
“I don't snore.” Charlie grinned.  
“More's the pity for you, because I do,” Severus replied. “How did this mistake happen?”  
“Human error,” the receptionist said. “I am very sorry, Sir, for the inconvenience. The cost of the room will of course be refunded and the room that the two of you share will receive some extras as an apology for the inconvenience.”  
“So I should think,” Severus muttered.  
“Shut up,” Charlie muttered back. “Well, that's sorted then. Are these the keys to the rooms? Thanks.”  
  
He snatched one up off the counter and turned to face their assembled party.  
  
“Dinner's in an hour and a half. Go upstairs, be quiet and respectful of the other patrons, and some of you should probably wash.”  
“No more than you, sir!” one of the girls called out, and all her friends tittered whilst she blushed.  
  
It was not just the staff who were obsessed with the new Weasley in the school, Severus noted. The pupils hefted up their bags and began to drift towards the Muggle lifts and stairs.  
  
“Perhaps we should have given them another 'no magic' speech,” Pomona said worriedly. “I don't want anything to ruin this trip.”  
“It'll be fine. This hotel operates within three miles of the dragon reserve; they're not stupid. They know there are some things which they don't fully understand, and that some of the clientèle that stay here are a bit odd.”  
“If you frequent it then they must,” Severus commented dryly.  
  
***  
  
“Well, thank Merlin it was a twin, eh?” Charlie said cheerfully, plonking his rucksack down on his bed. “Could have been interesting having to share a double.”  
“You would have been on the floor,” Severus said politely. “Either by choice or force.”  
“Why don't you like me, Snape?” Charlie asked, tugging at the drawstring cord of the bag to loosen it. “Is it because of my family, because of my charm and dashing good looks, or just because you plain just don't like me?”  
  
Severus blinked; he hadn't been expecting such a blunt question.  
  
“How absurd, I have never given any indication of anything of the sort.”  
“You're not particularly nice to me.”  
“I am not nice to anyone, if you hadn't noticed.”  
  
Weasley seemed to give that some thought as he began unpacking. Severus noticed the careless way the man chucked some nightclothes at the headboard of the bed and let them fall on the pillow. He watched with further disapproval as Charlie yanked handfuls of creased clothes out of the bag and dumped them on the bed. He then pulled out a couple of books and chucked them on the floor by the bedside table, a carrier bag of toiletries on the bed and, finally, an old, battered stuffed dragon toy, which Charlie placed just beneath the pillow on the bed. It was the only item he seemed to treat with a notion of care. After that, the man pushed the empty rucksack onto the floor and kicked it under the bed. He then threw himself down on the mattress and wiggled, as if to test it.  
  
“Not bad,” he praised. Severus stared at his muddy boots resting perilously close to the man's fresh clothes.  
“Weasley, would you like me to put it about the school that you sleep with a teddy bear now, or wait until we're back at Hogwarts?”  
“Tell who you like, but nobody messes with my dragon.” Charlie shrugged and smiled at the ceiling. “Never too old for something that makes you feel at home and loved.”  
  
Severus had nothing to say to that; he felt he had neither a home nor love to consider or attach to an inanimate object. He wouldn't be telling Weasley that, however. With a sigh, he undid the zip of his suitcase and opened the top. His miniature bottles of whisky winked at him in the soft lighting of the hotel room. He had a feeling he was going to need them.  
  
“Why are you such an arsehole?” Charlie asked lazily, stretching his arms up above him. “Life's not been bad for you since the war.”  
“And if it was the issues before the war which made me as I am?”  
“Then I'd say you were a fool for holding on to them, Snape. The past is the past. Leave it there and move on with your life.”  
  
Charlie bounded off the bed and tugged his jumper off over his head. “I'm gonna have a shower before dinner. Knock twice on the bathroom door if you fancy joining me.” He winked and sauntered to the en-suite, where Severus thanked the gods that the boy closed the door behind him.  
  
“Was that a proposition?” he asked himself softly.  
  
He stared at the closed bathroom door for a few moments before shaking himself back to reality. He set about unpacking his case.  
  


* * *

  
  
Charlie had been lying. It did feel like coming home to smell the dragon shit, feel the mud under his boots and have dirt caked beneath his fingernails again. The breeze through his hair felt heavenly. He couldn't believe that he had ever willingly left it behind.  
  
The sun was setting on their first day observing at the reserve, and from what he could tell, it was a success. The kids were all suitably stunned an in awe of the dragons, Sprout looked like she was about to have an orgasm when she saw the plethora of plants awaiting her, and even Snape had looked at least interested in the brewing rooms and on-site apothecary.  
  
The best part for Charlie, however, was when a dragon that he had reared from an egg stopped dead at the very whiff of him and came bounding over to the edge of her enclosure to see him. It had made his legs wobble, if he was honest, and would have brought a tear to his eye had he not been surrounded by Hogwarts' finest sixth years.  
  
“Sir?”  
“Mm?” Charlie looked up, startled at being caught out in staring longingly over the reserve. “Something wrong?”  
“No... I just wondered if you were okay. You look a bit sad, Sir.”  
  
Charlie looked at the girl and wondered if she was just flirting with him, like most of them usually did. His lessons were full, but he had to wonder if any of the girls there really cared about magical creatures, or if they just wanted to look at him. He wasn't being arrogant; it was a well-known fact that the girls of Hogwarts had taken to him like a flame to parchment.  
  
His questioner was a sullen girl, with pale skin and wide brown eyes. She was tall for her age and too thin. “You're Lizzy Worthing, aren't you? Arty's sister?”  
“Yeah... d'you know him?”  
“A good mate of mine, in fact. Top bloke, your brother. Speaks the world of you in that way that all blokes speak of their little sisters.”  
  
A ghost of a smile twisted her lips.  
  
“You're the one they call the Vampire, aren't you?”  
“I hate that name,” she ground out.  
“I bet you do. But look at it this way, you've got a nickname whereas hundreds of kids just go unnoticed. When you make something of yourself, which I know you will because you're just like your brother, or so Arty tells me, it's going to feel all the better when you rub it in their faces. Trust me.”  
“Why?”  
  
Charlie laughed. “You see this?” He pointed to his mental hair, which had increased in size due to the humidity of the reserve. “For seven whole years, my year called me a clown because my natural hair looked like a Muggle clown's wig.”  
“Clowns are horrible,” Lizzy said, matter-of-factly. “You're not.”  
“See, our nicknames are never nice, and never truthful. But I got through it and so will you.”  
“Being a star Quidditch seeker has to help with that, though,” she said, slyly.  
“Oh aye, been doing your homework on me in the school library, have we?”  
“No. I couldn't get through the masses drooling over your team picture.”  
  
Charlie laughed, and the sound bounced off the trees nearest to them and rebounded back.  
  
“They're pretty rabid, you know. They want you to go out with them and forget the age difference and woo them with flowers and chocolates.” Lizzy smirked in amusement.  
  
Just in time, Charlie stopped himself from replying that the boys would be more likely to get that sort of treatment than the girls of Hogwarts. He swallowed, glad that he had managed to cling onto the words just in time. There was no need for anyone there to know his sexual inclination.  
  
“Why are you sad?”  
“Because this was my home for a very long time, and now I've come back and know I have to leave again in four days' time. I miss it.”  
“Then why did you leave?”  
“Because I had to... the war changed my family beyond repair, and I had to be there to help patch it back together again. They needed me.” He shrugged, leaving out the part where he had actually needed them, too.  
“I'm leaving when I finish school,” Lizzy blurted suddenly. “I want to come here. Or somewhere like here. Anywhere to be out in the open and working with animals.”  
“You're that keen?” Charlie asked, surprised.  
“Always have been.”  
  
Charlie stared at her, wondering if there was another reserve nester in the making before his very eyes. They called the ones who never wanted to leave and became so involved with the way of life that they tended to think of nothing else, even to the abandonment of personal relationships and family, and in some cases, even hygiene, 'reserve nesters' –those who nested in it like the dragons they kept.  
  
“Well, if you're serious about it, use these next few days to get experience. Look at the different parts of the reserve and find out which bits you like best. Try to get a good look at the accommodation -it's a bit grim. It's tough but you get used to it. See if it's for you before you go making any great plans.”  
“I will.” She smiled at him. “Thanks, Professor Weasley.”  
  
Professor Weasley. The words echoed in his mind -Charlie had never thought to find himself teaching. He had always thought that his passion was best spent with the animals themselves. He had never considered really nurturing that passion within others like himself until the time came for him to look for a new job after the dust of the war had settled.  
  
 _And here I am, back again. Will I ever escape this bloody place?_  
  
***  
  
Charlie slouched into the hotel room, suddenly very tired and aching all over. His body was out of shape with concern to the physical aspects of his old job. The reserve was set on a mountainside, so every walk was either uphill or downhill and hell on untrained muscles. He was looking forward to a long hot bath before heading down to dinner.  
  
“Boots off, Weasley, or they'll never get that mud out of the carpet.”  
  
Snape's voice lashed at him like a whip, and Charlie froze, having not seen him lying on his bed, reading. He bent and untied his laces before kicking the boots off and leaving them by the door. He shuffled to his bed and fell down on it, moaning with delight as the supple springs took his weight and eased the ache in his left ankle. He let it circle and winced at the thunderous crack it emitted at a certain point.  
  
“That is not normal, Weasley,” Snape advised, not looking up from his book.  
“I know. Broke it badly during my first year here. Never been right since. It'll be better after the bath.”  
  
All of his intentions and the thought of lovely, steaming water couldn't make Charlie rise, however, and he pressed his face into his pillow and moaned again.  
  
“Would you like me to leave whilst you make love to your bed, Weasley?”  
“Mmhmm. Or stay and watch, whatever gets you off.”  
“As if.”  
  
The bed creaked as Severus sat up and put his feet on the floor.  
  
“It was a good day,” Charlie decided aloud. “I reckon everyone's having a good time.”  
“Not everyone,” Severus said pointedly. “I would much rather be back at the castle.”  
“You didn't have to come.”  
“Minerva practically threatened me with redundancy if I didn't.”  
“Not my problem, Snape.” Charlie yawned, considering a nap instead of the bath.  
“The stench of your feet is appalling, Weasley.”  
  
It was probably the truth and as such Charlie didn't see any reason to protest.  
  
“And your side of the room is the state. Won't you think of the poor maids who need to work around your mess?”  
“It's not messy,” he muttered. “It's lived-in.”  
“As are your underpants from yesterday... and the day before that, if the look of them is anything to go by.”  
“Move them if you're that bothered.”  
  
Charlie smirked into his pillow as the only answer was Severus departing the hotel room with a loud bang of the door.  
  
***  
  
Shivering, Charlie sucked at his cigarette as he leant close to the window of their room. It was raining again outside, which meant that he couldn't duck out for his smoke as he had done before. There was a no-smoking policy within the room, but he practically had the stick poking out of the window into the cool Romanian night. He was sure that nobody would be able to tell that he had been smoking. In his hand he had a glass of whisky and ice cubes. He tapped some ash off using the windowsill and sipped at his drink again. It was a good blend from the hotel bar. He had no idea where his acerbic room mate was, but as Charlie was sure the man would have something to say about his smoking, he didn't particularly care.  
  
It was therefore a disappointment when the door opened and Severus entered.  
  
“Are you smoking, Weasley?”  
“Absolutely not,” Charlie lied, stubbing out the fag on the sill and chucking it out of the window. “Just getting some fresh air.”  
“Smoke-filled fresh air,” Severus corrected with a roll of his eyes.  
  
Charlie laughed despite himself. “Yeah, okay. I was having a smoke. D'you want one? I'm great at sharing.”  
“No thank you.” Severus settled himself on his bed. “Do try your hardest not to get us thrown out of the rooms for rule breaking, won't you?”  
“I'm a hotel's worst nightmare -according to you I'm messy, I'm a rule breaker... I'm surprised they even let me in!”  
“Well I was too, but there we are. There's no accounting for taste.”  
  
Charlie couldn't help but laugh and roll his eyes. “Again, I'll ask, why are you such an arse?”  
“Circumstance and inclination, Weasley.”  
“So you _like_ being a dickhead, is that it?”  
“You seem to think you can call me whatever you like in that ridiculous mind of yours, Weasley. Watch your tongue.”  
“What're you gonna do to me?” Charlie asked cockily. He swigged at his whisky. “Bend me over your knee and spank me like a naughty child?”  
“Leave your depraved sexual fantasies out of this, Weasley.”  
“Oh, I fantasise about worse than a bit of spanking, Professor Snape.”  
  
Charlie wondered whether he'd had too much whisky as he walked close to the man, slinging his hips like the slut he had once been, and whispered, “And I bet you'd like to know exactly what, as well.”  
  
He was caught off balance when Severus' palms pressed firmly into his chest and gave him a shove; Charlie swayed on his aching ankle and then landed on his bed with a bounce, slopping whisky everywhere.  
  
“How dare you presume to enter my personal space?” Severus thundered, his face twisted with fury.  
“Whoa, Snape, I'm just messing around.”  
“Well don't. I don't care for your jokes or your insults, Weasley, and if you want any form of recommendation from me to the headmistress about your decorum on our return to the school, I would seriously buck up your ideas.”  
  
To all accounts and purposes, Charlie had just been bollocked, he knew. Why, then, he was so turned on, made very little sense to him. There was something about the slightly manic glint in Snape's eyes during his rant and the stiffness of his body which was alluring. Charlie had always loved loosening people up before sex, massaging them and caressing them and making them feel adored. Snape was screaming out for such attention in his body language, and Charlie wanted to deliver.  
  
“And what on earth are you bloody staring at, Weasley? Go and masturbate over one of your precious dragons –I'm sure you'll find it immensely more satisfying.”  
  
Charlie watched the man stomp to the en-suite and slam the door shut behind him. Minutes later he heard the shower turn on and he slumped back onto his bed, just staring at the point where the angry wizard had disappeared. He had to fight off the urge to rip his own clothes off, barge through the door and accost the man in the shower, letting the soap and water provide lubricant as they rocked together.  
  
“Bloody trust me to go for an arsehole like you,” he murmured to himself, slightly dazed.  
  


* * *

  
  
Day three of their trip dawned sunny but bitingly cold. Severus wished that he could request to stay at the hotel in the warmth and read all day, but even he recognised that would be unfair to Sprout and Weasley. Not that he was talking to Weasley after the man's little show of bravado. They were sharing their room in complete silence, and Severus had even neglected to scornfully point out the man's untidiness. It was driving him insane, but he would not mention it, he'd decided. He would not talk first, not until there was some kind of apology or explanation, which he thought he was owed. Even if it was that Weasley had been somewhat drunk, it would be _something_.  
  
He looked up at the sound of approaching feet and saw the man in question striding towards their group, ruddy-cheeked and grinning.  
  
“Got a right treat for you all today -now, you're going to have to be very careful and very quiet, but one of our girls' eggs are on target to hatch in the next hour. The first cracks have started appearing in the eggs but the process is slow, so we'll have time to get there and settle in. Does anybody else have anything else they'd rather do than sit and watch the miracle of dragon birth?” Charlie asked aloud.  
  
Several of the group shook their heads breathlessly; even Severus had to admit that watching a dragon hatch from an egg was a rare occurrence and one that he did not intend to pass up.  
  
“Is it safe?” he asked stiffly. “There won't be any danger from the mother?”  
“We'll be behind the reinforced fences,” Charlie assured him. “And if everyone stays as quiet as possible, then she'll be fine. She's a good girl, doesn't often act up. I raised her when I was here myself. Beautiful lady. C'mon then.”  
  
Severus fell to the back of the group as the students scurried after Charlie as he set off back the way he had come. He chatted to them easily, laughing every now and then at something one of them had said. He walked with a confident ease, Severus noted, fitting in perfectly against the forest backdrop. Charlie Weasley seemed a part of the trees and the leaves and the dirt, or at the very least, at home there. The question which had been plaguing his mind ever since they had arrived and the blasted grin had appeared on the boy's face came back to Severus then -why on earth would he leave if he loved it so much?  
  
His thighs began to ache as they ascended the incline to the dragon's enclosure; somehow it seemed too risky to be standing just feet away from hatching dragon eggs, even with a magically reinforced fence in between them and the nesting mother. Oddly enough, however, he trusted the mad-haired Weasley –not that he would ever tell him, of course.  
  
The group in front of him began to slow and Severus looked up to see Charlie putting his finger to his lips and beckoning everyone closer. An unnatural hush fell over their students as they all strained their eyes to see the miracle of dragon birth. One of the eggs, Severus saw, already had a tiny hole in it, and the shell lay on the floor, coated with the birthing sac of the dragon, which had clearly now broken. It was odd to think that such a creature was taking its first true gulps of fresh air in front of them.  
  
Severus didn't want to admit it, and he wouldn't aloud, but he was impressed.  
  
***  
  
“I'll get it.”  
  
Charlie's proclamation jerked Severus awake. He didn't even realise that he'd been asleep and he certainly hadn't heard whatever it was that Charlie was going to 'get'. Only after assessing the confusing noise ringing through the room did Severus trace it to the Muggle telephone which was connected to the hotel's reception desk and nothing else.  
  
“Hello? What? Who? Wait-”  
  
Severus watched as the young man blinked once at the receiver and then put it back down, looking confused. He then turned and looked at the door, on which there was promptly a knock.  
  
“Who is it?” Severus asked groggily. He was sure he wasn't in any state for visitors. Charlie ignored him and opened the door without answering.  
“ _Ron?_ ” Charlie said, the surprise evident in his tone. “What the fuck're you doing here?”  
  
Severus opened his mouth to protest as Charlie ushered his guest into their room, but when he saw the younger Weasley's face he faltered. The boy was ridiculously pale and his eyes were red. He looked shocking.  
  
“What's wrong?” Charlie tried again, giving Ron a gentle shove towards the bed. “Or what happened that was so bad you followed me all the way to Romania?”  
“I told Harry that I loved him.”  
  
Ron's sentence was loaded. His face seemed to crumple on delivering the line. Charlie stared at him, open-mouthed, and then glanced at Severus lying down on the bed. Severus stared back, wondering how he could make for the door without making too much of a fool out of himself, but when Ron went on, he had no choice but to hear the words.  
  
“I told him I loved him, told him I wanted to fuck him and make love to him and everything in between... and he just walked away from me. Didn't even say anything.”  
  
Mind racing at full speed, Severus didn't know whether to focus on the fact that the ginger member of the Golden Trio was apparently gay, or whether Harry Potter was as much of an insensitive fool as his father had been. His brain swung wildly between the two pieces of information.  
  
“So, wait, that person we talked about just before I started at Hogwarts... that was _Harry?_ You were asking me about how to get into your best friend's knickers?”  
  
“It's not like that!” Ron burst out. “Well... I dunno. Maybe it is, but I love him too and he just...” A defeated hand swiped through the air. Severus didn't know what was wrong with him, but he almost felt sorry for the dejected youth sitting on the bed opposite to him.  
  
Charlie shot him another look and then glanced pointedly at the door. Severus met his eye and nodded, swinging his legs from the bed and struggled to stand.  
  
“You don't have to go,” Ron said miserably. “I'm sorry to burst in... I just didn't know who to come and talk to and Charlie...”  
“Charlie's the only gay brother he has,” Charlie said roughly. “So he came to me.”  
“There is no need to explain yourselves to me,” Severus assured them, looking for his shoes. “I have no interest in your affairs, either of you. I will leave you in peace.”  
  
Finally locating his shoes by the door, he slipped them on and then almost threw himself into the corridor, desperate to get away from the depressing tension which had filled their hotel room. He reached up and ran his hair through his fingers, feeling a few tangles on the way. He wondered how long he had been asleep for before the phone had rung to alert them of their visitor. Ambling towards the stairs, he stifled a yawn and felt the ache of tiredness in his bones and muscles. After the dragon hatching, they had climbed further into the reserve to see another rare species. All the climbing was taking its toll on his body and highlighting just how unfit he had become with his growing number of years.  
  
“Snape? Where's room 224?”  
“Potter?” His head snapped up and looked at the brunette, his face ruddy and chest heaving with harsh breaths. “How sweet, you followed your beau all the way to Romania.”  
“Ron's here?” Harry asked, looking relieved. “Thank fuck for that. I messed up.”  
“As ever,” Severus drawled, enjoying every moment of the boy's discomfort. “You may well be too late. I wouldn't hear anything you had to say if you'd done that to _me_ , Potter.”  
  
Potter blushed even redder and Severus fought to keep the smirk from his face. “The room is just up there. Good luck. You'll need it.”  
  
With that, he continued out into the stairwell, and finally allowed his lips to curl into a smirk.  
  
***  
  
It was pushing for eight when Charlie finally appeared in the hotel's dining room. Most of the students had dined and retired to their rooms for the evening, but Severus had remained at his table, eating slowly and sipping wine, unsure of whether it was safe for him to head upstairs yet. Charlie headed for him and fell down with a loud sigh in the chair opposite. He picked up the bottle Severus had ordered and poured himself a glass without invitation, which he then gulped down in three mouthfuls.  
  
“Please, do help yourself to my wine,” Severus said dryly, when the glass was empty.  
“Sorry,” Charlie rasped, dragging the back of his hand over his lips. “I should have been a fucking negotiator.”  
“Is all now well in Potter-Weasley land?” Severus asked, not sure why he cared.  
“I think so.” Charlie smiled. “They're probably fucking on my bed at the minute. They started snogging before I even left the room. I just hope they think to look in my drawer for some lube.”  
  
Severus stared at him.  
  
“What?” Charlie asked, defensively. “It's always best to be prepared... and there are some old flames at the reserve... I didn't expect to be stuck sharing a room with you.”  
“Sorry to cramp your sexual prowess.” Severus snorted and picked up his own wine glass again. “So... the only gay brother until now, hmm?”  
“Have been for years.” Charlie shrugged, looking down at the tablecloth. “Does that bother you? Another room might have freed up by now if it does.”  
“Why on earth would it bother me, Weasley?”  
“I dunno... I just... you didn't seem like the type of bloke who...”  
“Who what? Likes homosexuals? Wouldn't be one in a month of Sundays?”  
“Are you?” Charlie asked, his voice low.  
  
Severus assessed him. “If I was, it would be none of your business.”  
“No,” Charlie admitted.  
“And I'd also be unlikely to tell you.”  
“Also true.”  
“You haven't eaten yet,” Severus observed.  
“I'm starving. Think there's anything decent left on the buffet?”  
“They're already clearing it away.”  
“Shit. Well... I'll go out and get something. Fancy coming with me? See the place at night... I bet Pomona could manage by herself for a while.”  
  
Even though he was tired, a walk in the refreshing night air seemed appealing to Severus, and he readily agreed. Charlie led the way, stopping by the reception desk to ask them to ring up to Sprout's room and inform her that they were going out for no more than an hour. When they left the hotel, the air was almost sweet in its taste.  
  
Severus noticed Charlie inhaling a deep lungful.  
  
“Smells like home,” Charlie commented, burying his hands in his pockets and slouching as they began to walk.  
“Then why did you leave?”  
“Because my family needed me... the war fucked us all up in our own ways, and I think I needed them too... but I do miss this. I did a lot of growing up here... metaphorically... sexually... mentally... it's an important place to me.”  
“Clearly.”  
“Do you have anywhere like that?” Charlie asked.  
  
Severus thought about his answer. “Only Hogwarts. I suppose that is why I have never left it.”  
“You did after the war.”  
“Only for a short time until I was well enough to resume my teaching duties and assist with the reconstruction of the damaged areas... I felt it was my duty to do so... but now the castle is my home again.”  
“Wouldn't be Hogwarts without its resident grumpy Potions Master.”  
“I prefer the term 'acerbic', if you don't mind. Somewhat more graceful, don't you think?”  
  
Charlie's laugh was warm as it bounced ahead of them on the pavement.  
  
“I wonder if Harry and Ron are done yet...”  
“Young love, short fuses,” Severus pointed out.  
“Or they're already on their second round.”  
“Hopefully still on your bed and not mine.” Severus made a face.  
“I really hope those two make it...” Charlie sighed. “But how embarrassing is it that my littlest brother has got a boyfriend now and I'm still a lone ranger?”  
“Is that by choice, though, or circumstance?”  
“Choice mainly... but recently I've been thinking that it'd be nice to have someone to just... be there. To make me a cup of tea and massage what hurts... be nice, don't you think?”  
“I have always thought it desirable, yes.”  
“Then why have you never found someone? I mean... I know... things. As much as anyone knows, and I know that you sacrificed a lot for the war and keeping Harry alive, and I know that you were in love with someone that you couldn't have. But why have you never moved on and found someone who loved you back?”  
  
Severus felt like thumping him, and he wasn't sure why. He had pried into Charlie's life and should have expected some recompense, he supposed. They walked on in silence until he finally spoke.  
  
“Because I've never found anybody that would.”  
“Would what?”  
“Love me back.”  
  
Charlie stopped and looked at him. “Then none of them have been the right one.”  
“I have long since stopped believing in 'right ones' and 'soulmates'.”  
“Then more fool you.” Charlie spoke softly, staring at him almost sadly. “They're out there, Severus. Waiting for us. If you don't believe that then you're never going to find someone.”  
“And I have no qualms about never finding someone. I've lived my life on my own until now and I'm sure I can do it until the day I die, too.” Severus shrugged. “I don't need another person to make me feel complete.”  
“But relaxed? Happy?” Charlie probed. “They don't mean completeness, but they're bloody nice, Severus. It's nice to have someone.”  
“I wouldn't know.”  
“You mean you've never had a proper relationship?” Charlie stared at him incredulously. “Not even just someone for sex?”  
“Why on earth you think I would discuss such matters with you, Weasley, is intriguing.”  
  
A flash of annoyance shot across Charlie's face and Severus stared back at him. After a moment, Charlie huffed and began walking again, lengthening his strides to put distance between them. Severus remained still, watching the man's retreating back. It was so very broad, he thought. Broad and muscled. Just how he liked it.  
  
Shaking his head, Severus hurried to catch the redhead up. He supposed he owed him his company if nothing else.  
  
“You're maddening,” Charlie muttered, just loud enough for Severus to hear. “Absolutely fucking maddening. You look down your nose at everyone and shove them away when they try to get to know you. Anyone'd think you really do want to be alone for the rest of your life.”  
“Weasley, why are you using your own experience with me and assuming I would be that way with someone I was attracted to?”  
“Because you _are_ attracted to me.”  
  
Severus almost choked on the laughter which spilled from his lips before he could stop it. “You have extreme confidence there, boy.”  
“Don't call me boy.” Charlie laughed and Severus fell silent as he stepped very close to him -so close that Severus could smell him on the air. “I'm not a boy, I'm a fully grown man, and if you think I didn't notice you staring at me this morning when I got out of the shower and forgot my towel, then you've got another thing coming.”  
“Weasley, most people would look at a naked man wandering through the bedroom before they realised what they were looking at.”  
“You kept on looking.”  
“I assure you, I did not.”  
“Oh yeah?” Charlie reckoned, leaning closer. “Then why did you get hard and excuse yourself and go to the loo afterwards? And don't lie, I saw the tent in those bloody ugly excuses for trousers.”  
“There's nothing wrong with my trousers,” Severus said weakly.  
“There's everything wrong with them,” Charlie murmured.  
  
Before Severus could prevent it, their lips were touching –softly enough to be tender but firmly enough to still be a proper kiss. His mind began to race, mainly trying to remember when the last time he had been kissed was. He couldn't remember the exact number of years that had passed, but he _did_ remember that he had paid for the rent boy, and that the man had not smelt nearly as enticing as Charlie did.  
  
When the Weasley opened his jaw and mouth, Severus matched him move for move. He appreciated the moan of the redhead when their tongues met and began to rub against one another. He permitted the action when one calloused, large hand came up to cup the side of his face and made his own by gently placing his left hand on Charlie's hip. The boy was hot to the touch, even through his clothes and the cool night around them. He tasted of the wine he had hastily swigged in the hotel restaurant. He smelt divine.  
  
“Fuck, I want you,” Charlie breathed, pulling back and looking over Severus' face with alarmingly hungry eyes; Severus _knew_ that nobody had ever looked at him with such blatant desire. It made his legs weaken, much to his horror. “Please say I can have you.” Charlie moaned and kissed him again, using his free hand to pull Severus flush to his body, right there in the middle of the pavement.  
“Somewhere more private,” Severus rasped, suddenly too aware of their surroundings. “Somewhere where we are alone.”  
  


* * *

  
  
The pull of apparation in Charlie's belly didn't hinder him as he waited for his feet to slam into the floor so that he could continue his molestation of Severus Snape's mouth. He had no idea what he was doing, or why he was doing it, but he _wanted_ Severus Snape, and he was going to have him. Finally the transition ended, and he squeezed the man tighter, wanting to feel every inch of him.  
  
“Fuck, Charlie!” Ron's voice yelled out and Charlie froze, slowly opening his eyes.  
  
He had forgotten the other occupants of their hotel room when he had apparated there. He looked over at the bed and stared blankly at his brother, who was completely naked and balls-deep in Harry's backside.  
  
“We'll just... uh...” Charlie looked desperately around and nearly cried out with relief when his eyes found the bathroom door. “We'll be in the bathroom.”  
  
Face burning, he grabbed Severus by the hand and pulled him into the bathroom. Once there, he slammed the door and tried to rid his mind of what he had just seen. The darkness of the small, tiled space calmed him, and he did not release Severus' wrist.  
  
“Well, that rather dampened the mood.” Severus spoke in a whisper.  
“Don't let it,” Charlie pleaded, feeling with his hands in the darkness. He let them settle on Severus' shoulders and pushed him until he became trapped against the door. “Don't let it, Severus... kiss me again... start again...”  
“Your brother is on the other side of this door!” Severus hissed in protest.  
“Don't give a fuck, cast a silencing charm.”  
  
Charlie claimed his mouth so that no more protest could be made. Severus fought for a while but eventually succumbed, leaning back into the door and allowing Charlie to kiss him and run his hands over his chest. When he was finally out of breath, Charlie put his forehead to rest against Severus' and tried to calm his breathing.  
  
“I never ever want to see that again,” he whispered finally. “Never.”  
“It is moments like that which make me glad I do not have siblings.”  
  
Charlie snorted with laughter and closed his eyes. “Lucky Ron.”  
“Lucky Potter, your brother seemed quite well endowed.”  
“Lucky you, it runs in the family.” He grinned into the darkness. “See?” He rolled his hips against Severus, pressing his erection into the man's body. “We're all hung like horses.”  
“I'll never look at your father in the same way again.”  
“Don't look at anybody else, ever again,” Charlie breathed. He kissed Severus. “Look at me and screw the lot of them.”  
“Metaphorically or literally?”  
“Shut up,” Charlie groaned. “You know what I fucking mean.”  
  
There was a dark chuckle which shot straight to his groin.  
  
“As much as you are excited, I don't really have sexual encounters in bathrooms.”  
“It's clean,” Charlie protested. “I'll put a towel on the floor.”  
“Your brother has the lubricant.”  
“That little shit!” Charlie cried, almost stamping his foot in desperation.  
“Well... that doesn't mean you are completely without, Mr Weasley. You seem to be rather fond of using your mouth... why don't you put it to good use?”  
“Only if you do the same with yours,” Charlie shot back.  
“Hmm, we'll see,” Severus drawled.  
  
Charlie stepped back and allowed him to pass. His shoes made loud noises on the tiled floor. Suddenly the room flooded with a dim light as Severus pulled the cord of the shaving lamp above the mirror. Despite its softness, Charlie winced at the brightness. When he looked, the Slytherin's lips were kiss-reddened. He nearly came then and there, just looking at what he had done to the man's face -beyond his lips his cheeks were also coloured.  
  
“D'you think I can go back out there and ask them to fuck off?” Charlie asked doubtfully.  
  
Severus laughed and shook his head. Sighing, Charlie slouched over to the bath and sat down, his back against it. He stretched his legs out in front of him. Suddenly he was tired; they'd done a lot of walking that day and there had been a lot of excitement too, not to mention all the kissing. He found himself thinking how nice it would be to push the two single beds together and sleep next to Severus, feel his warmth and smell him during the night. Charlie swallowed as he thought about what a comfort that would be. It had been a long time since anybody had shared his bed without there being sex beforehand. Somehow he knew that he would not get anything from Severus Snape whilst they shared a hotel room surrounded by their pupils. It just seemed written, as much as Charlie hated to acknowledge the fact.  
  
He jumped when light fingers stroked against his hair. Charlie looked up at Severus questioningly.  
  
“Your hair is quite mad.”  
“Bane of my mother's life.”  
“But not your own?”  
“I like my hair. Wild.”  
“Like yourself.”  
“If you say so. I'm just me.”  
  
Severus gave him a small, private smile, and said nothing more. He didn't remove his hand. Charlie arched up into the touch, loving the heat and the tenderness of the action. Severus stroking his hair wormed its way into the image of their sharing a bed. A faint knock sounded on the door.  
  
“What?” Charlie called, not taking his eyes from Severus' face.  
“It's... we're going now,” Ron answered sheepishly through the wood. “Sorry about the... uh... We've cleaned up after ourselves.”  
“So I should bloody think, you filthy bastards.” Charlie grinned at Severus and kept his tone deadly serious.  
“I'm sorry, Charlie... I didn't meant to interrupt you and... well... Whatever. Thanks, though. I'll see you when you come home?”  
“Yeah. Ron?”  
“Mm?”  
“Be safe. Sexually transmitted diseases can kill. Use protection. Use lube. And angle your hips a bit differently next time, he'll purr like a kitten.”  
  
Severus smothered his mouth with his hand to stop himself from laughing aloud and Charlie enjoyed the mortified silence from the other side of the door.  
  
“Bye,” he called cheerily, putting an end to the conversation. He heard the soft pop of apparation from the room and then allowed himself to break out in laughter which shook his lungs. Severus joined him and the small bathroom made them so noisy that Charlie was deafened.  
  
He struggled to his feet and wrenched open the door, finding his bed pristinely made and the air of the room smelling suspiciously clean.  
  
“Well, at least they know how to tidy up after themselves,” Severus commented.  
“That'll be Ron... Molly Weasley trains her sons well.” Charlie snorted and looked at the clock. It was only half past nine but it felt much later. “Well... I think all I'm good for now is bed.”  
“I was thinking the same.”  
“Severus... do you think that we could maybe...” he glanced at the beds, hoping to get his message across without words.  
“What?” Severus asked, too innocently.  
“Never mind,” Charlie decided aloud, not wanting to play the man's game. “Night, Severus.”  
  
He made to move away but a surprisingly firm grip settled around his wrist and pulled him back into place.  
  
“A word of advice on trying to court a Slytherin, Weasley,” Severus muttered. “Let them have their little games, they enjoy them. Participate once in a while, and you will too.”  
  
Charlie stood still as Severus kissed him and laced his arms around Charlie's waist. It felt so much more comfortable to kiss in their room, he found.  
  
“Now, what were you going to ask me?”  
“If we could push the beds together, oh Potions Master oh sir?”  
“Don't call me that. I want a man, not a student.”  
“An experienced man?” Charlie questioned.  
“Without question.”  
“A handsome, rugged man with more scars than you can count?”  
“Scars are attractive.”  
“And tattoos everywhere?”  
  
Hunger glimmered in Severus' eyes. Charlie smiled at him.  
  
“I'm not going to be stupid enough to ask for what I know you won't give me,” Charlie muttered, leaning close. “I don't beg. And you won't make me.”  
“Fair enough.”  
“And if you beg me... well then we'll just have to see.”  
“I assure you, Weasley, that I won't be begging at any point in the near future.”  
“We'll see.” Charlie kissed him.  
  
***  
  
The sun woke him, peeking through the poorly pulled curtains of their hotel room. Charlie couldn't quite believe that it was their last full day at the reserve already. The week had flown and so far nothing had gone wrong. The students were all behaving themselves, even if their professors were not. He glanced down at the sleeping wizard next to him and couldn't repress his smile. It had been their second night sharing a bed. Charlie felt infinitely better for the company.  
  
“Stop staring at me,” Severus muttered suddenly, turning in the bed as he spoke.  
“Sorry.”  
“No you're not.”  
“You're right, I'm not.” Charlie laughed and reached up to rub at his eyes. “Better get up or we'll miss breakfast. Got another good day of walking today as well... so should really fill up.”  
“More walking?” Severus said, his tone irritable. “I think my legs have had enough.”  
“Well stay down in the brewery then. I can manage them by myself. Not all of them are coming anyway, only the ones that can handle the walk.”  
“Don't tempt me.”  
“I mean it,” Charlie said, insistently. “I can handle this by myself.”  
  
Severus met his eye and something in his cheek twitched. It looked as if he was deciding on what to say -how best to softly deliver a hard blow.  
  
“You don't trust me,” Charlie blurted aloud with realisation. “You don't trust me to look after the kids.”  
  
He suddenly understood Severus' prior hesitation; it _did_ hurt. Charlie had had his own reservations about taking up a teaching job after so many years of working in relative solitude with nobody younger than eighteen in sight. As McGonagall had told him, however, he had passion for his subject and a friendly personality and infectious enthusiasm. So far, he had decided she was right. Severus' reservations made doubt crash down on his head, but he'd be damned if he let it show.  
  
“I'm perfectly capable of taking a few kids on a hike up half the mountain, thanks.” He shrugged his shoulders. “But come if you want to. I'd be glad of the company.”  
  
He threw back the duvet and swung his feet over the edge of the bed. Severus said nothing behind him and his silence set Charlie's blood to boil. He got up and reached for his clothes, wanting to escape the room as soon as he possibly could. He had always known that the man had disapproved of his appointment as Professor and had always passed sly comments about his ability to teach. Another member of staff had told him in confidence that Severus had personally petitioned against his employment. Charlie had taken it with a pinch of salt, until that moment.  
  
 _This is why you don't sleep with work colleagues._  
  
Charlie nearly groaned aloud. He was too close, too attached. Severus' opinion mattered.  
  
“Stupid twat,” he muttered to himself, pulling his jumper over his head.  
“What?” Severus asked stiffly.  
“Talking to myself.” Charlie bent to lace his boots. “Coming to breakfast?”  
“I'll be down soon.”  
  
Charlie looked at him and at the total indifference on his expression, and then nodded. “See you later, then.”  
  
He shut the door with a sharp snap behind him. He didn't even care how aggressive it might have looked.  
  
“Thinks I can't look after a bunch of fucking kids,” he mumbled to himself as he headed for the stairs. “Well fuck you, Snape, I'll bloody show you how competent I am. Looked after fucking dragons for years. Years!”  
  
Only when he realised he was a second away from shaking his fist in anger did Charlie force himself to take a deep breath and shake his head clear of his anger.  
  
***  
  
“Sir, what are we going to see today?”  
  
Charlie took a deep breath before answering; he was ready to snap but knew it was none of his students' fault. _Bloody man._  
  
“We're going to see a hybrid the reserve bred; she's the only one of her kind. Beautiful. You'll never see anything like her again.”  
“I will if I come and work here.”  
  
Charlie looked up and realised he was speaking to Lizzy again.  
  
“Oh, well yeah... you might get to see her again then.” He grinned. “So you like it.”  
“I love it. Don't want to go back to school.”  
“Yeah they're gonna want good NEWTs,” he advised with a sigh. “If only so you can heal yourself when you get roasted for the first time.”  
  
Charlie thought it was a credit to her that she didn't flinch. Most of them did, hearing about the possibility, and even worse, most of the men cried like a baby the first time it actually happened. Charlie remembered the sheer pain and sting of his first burning and how he'd had to chew into a pillow during the healing process to stop him screaming down the entire reserve.  
  
“How many times have you been burnt, Sir?” someone else asked.  
“Too many times to keep count.”  
“Have you got lots of scars?” A sixth year Hufflepuff girl asked, sounding almost hopeful that he might show them.  
“Too many to keep count,” he repeated with a grin. He stopped and turned around, loudly sighed, rolled his eyes, and yanked up the hem of his jumper, displaying his belly and chest.  
  
A gasp went up and Charlie hid his snigger in the wool of his Weasley jumper.  
  
“Is that a bite?”  
“Cool tattoos!”  
“Wow, did your nipple piercing hurt, Sir?”  
  
Charlie dropped his jumper and smoothed it down with splayed hands.  
  
“Yes, thank you and yes,” he answered quickly. “You've met the dragon that bit me. Don't tell my mother about the tattoos. And don't use me as inspiration -I don't want angry parents in my office due to a piercing spree, thanks.”  
  
The group around him broke out into sniggers and Charlie turned to keep on walking.  
  
“Come on, keep up, or we'll never get there before lunch.”  
“I think some of the girls would prefer to have you for lunch, Sir.”  
“Scars make the meat too tough,” Charlie advised, lengthening his strides to speed the group up.  
  


* * *

  
  
“They should have been back an hour ago,” Severus muttered, turning once again to pace up and down the small space which his feet had been wearing a path into for the past twenty minutes.  
“I'm sure there's nothing wrong,” Sprout said, although her voice was riddled with badly hidden worry.  
  
Severus glanced at his watch again and continued to silently fume in his head. He would hopefully be delivering the best 'I told you so' of his life in the very immediate future, and he looked forward to relishing every single word.  
  
“If any of them is hurt there'll be hell to pay,” he grumbled again.  
“Severus, why are you so worked up about this?” Sprout asked, somewhat incredulously. “Charlie is perfectly competent and he's in his element here. They've probably just stayed too long looking at a dragon and now it's dark they're making their way back slowly. They're probably being sensible.”  
  
He wasn't sure if she was trying to convince him or herself more. Either way, Severus looked at his watch again, and thought of the moment when he could gleefully point out that the boy's temper tantrum earlier that morning had been completely unfounded.


	2. Chapter 2

After another hour had passed, however, even Sprout had given up trying to convince herself of any kind of benefit to their missing group's lateness. Luckily for them, the reserve had given the rest of the students permission to eat in the communal food hall, and they had been instructed to behave and stay there until they were collected by a teacher.

“I am going to kill you.” Severus hissed the words beneath his breath so that nobody other than himself could hear them. “Painfully, and protracted in method, and you will rue the bloody day you ever tried to act like something you are not.”

Why he was so angry, he wasn't sure. He supposed that his attraction to the redhead had pulled the wool over his eyes and he had become blind to their surroundings and actual purpose of being in Romania.

“Wand light! There, in the trees!” one of the Reserve's rangers, who had been sitting with them keeping an eye out for any distress calls which Charlie might have decided to use. “Look, several lights.”  
“Oh, thank heavens, that must be them,” Sprout cried, relieved.  
“Don't count your doxies yet, Pomona,” Severus said dryly, pushing up out of his seat. “We don't know what state they're in.”

He pushed out of the cabin into the cool Romanian night and began to hurry up the path towards the group. He saw a dark shape sprinting towards him, their wand light bobbing erratically with each step.

“Sir, you've got to come. Professor Weasley's injured.”

Severus would take the lurch of his stomach to the grave, he decided, as he forced his legs to work and followed the girl back up the path to where the main group of people were.

“Out of the way,” he snapped, and the crowd parted. In the middle, pale faced and looking completely mortified, propped up by two of the older boys who looked exhausted, was Charlie. “What happened?” Severus asked stiffly.  
“Inside,” Charlie grunted, jerking his head. “Got to sit down.”

Severus fell back, surreptitiously running his eyes over the group; they all looked fine, if a bit cold, and Charlie seemed to be the only injured one.

“What happened?” Severus asked the boy nearest to him.  
“Lizzy nearly got eaten by a dragon. Professor Weasley saved her. But the dragon burnt him and slammed him with her tail, broke his leg.”  
“He walked all the way back down the mountain on a broken leg?” Severus asked, trying to hide his dismay.

The boy nodded grimly and then hurried off to join his friends. By that point, Charlie and his human crutches had made it into the cabin and Severus could hear Pomona fussing over the boy.

“Your peers are all in the food hall, eating dinner. I suggest that you go and join them,” he advised the frozen teenagers in a loud voice. “We will sort Professor Weasley out and then maybe we will _finally_ be able to return to the hotel.”

He couldn't help the bite of impatience which crept into his tone. Charlie waited until all of the students had shuffled out before he spoke.

“I didn't expect you to wait.”  
“Idiot,” Severus announced. “Of course we waited. We thought something had happened to one of the students.”  
“No, just me,” Charlie said, through gritted teeth. “Morgana's tits that hurts.”  
“Bad break,” the man who had been waiting with them commented. “You didn't heal it?”  
“You know the rules,” Charlie muttered, shaking his head. “No unnecessary magic that deep into the woods.”  
“I think a bone breakage counts as necessary magic,” Severus said in disbelief.  
“If I'd've made that dragon any angrier, someone would be dead. It was best to just get the fuck out of there, so I did. All of the kids are fine, but some of them might need to get the sound of the bone breaking out of their heads.” Charlie visibly shuddered. “It needs healing.”  
“I'll do it,” Severus said decisively.  
“If it's all the same to you, I'd rather go to the Reserve infirmary. Matron Elizabeta is on a par with Madam Pomfrey. She's healed me more times than you've sneezed.” Charlie's voice was cool, and his eyes were set with frosty determination.  
“Suit yourself.” Severus glared straight back at him. “Your own foolish idiocy led to the injury in the first place, so I won't offer to heal you again.”  
“Severus, go and fuck yourself,” Charlie breathed, his eyes closing with weariness. Severus noticed his body begin to tremble.  
“Severus, I think you should go and supervise in the food hall. Take them all back to the hotel. I'll stay with Charlie and fetch the matron.” Sprout's voice was forceful.

Severus gave a curt nod and left the cabin.

***

He was washing his face in the bathroom sink when he heard the door to their room open, finally, three hours later. He heard shuffling feet over the carpet and then the springs in a bed bounce. He walked to the door drying himself with a towel and saw Charlie slumped backwards on his bed (which Severus had separated that morning so as not to give the cleaners anything to talk about), with his eyes closed, his face still pale, and his leg bandaged.

“Fuck off,” the redhead advised in a low voice, not even opening his eyes. “Just fuck off, Severus, I don't need you to tell me what you want to say. You were right, okay? Just leave it at that.”

Severus had not expected him to cave so easily; he had expected more fight, but when he looked closely at the tired lines on Charlie's face, he realised that he should not have. Sighing, he crossed the room to perch gently next to him, looking down his chunky leg to where his chunky foot was bandaged for support.

“Did they heal the break?”  
“It broke in two places. One place has broken before, so there was a weakness, and why I went down like a stack of bricks.”  
“Painful?” Severus enquired softly.  
“Hurt like hell. Ever tried not crying in front of a group of teenagers who idolise you?”  
“Nobody's ever idolised me.”

Charlie said nothing in response and Severus had nothing more to add. Gently he picked Charlie's damaged leg up and placed it on his own knees, elevating it. He put his cool fingers to the man's foot and held it, finding it freezing cold. Charlie moaned in appreciation as heat began to transfer from body to body.

“Think I've found them a new recruit,” Charlie said at last. “Lizzy Worthing will be the next Charlie Weasley... too obsessed with observing to notice when she's about to die.”  
“And too stupid to use magic to save herself or mend her injuries.”  
“I just wanted everyone back safely. That might not have happened if I'd got my wand out and started trying to heal my own bones, which, by the way, I've always been bollocks at. I probably wouldn't have a leg at all if I'd tried.”  
“Still... coming back down the mountain must have been agony.”  
“It was hell.”  
“You must be shattered.”  
“I am.” Charlie failed to hold back a yawn. “Need to go to bed, but too tired to get changed... so... just gonna crash here...”  
“No you're not,” Severus sighed, easing himself out from beneath Charlie's leg. “I'll help you change.”  
“Why are you being so nice?” Charlie asked groggily. “I expected you to be singing and dancing about how I'm a shit teacher and you're going to get me sacked and how you were right.”

Severus said nothing as he reached up and unbuttoned the man's lightweight walking trousers. He tried not to look as he began to pull them down, revealing Charlie's underwear and ample package. He paused to unlace his walking boot on his non-injured leg, and let it fall to the floor.

“Don't you want to pick that up and put it by the door?” Charlie teased with a grin. “Mr Tidiness?”  
“Did they by any chance drug you, Weasley?”  
“Oh yeah... and I got the good shit, too.” He grinned a silly grin and Severus had to smile in response.

He noticed the fine copper hairs clinging to Charlie's legs and the parts of his belly that he could see and wondered how it would feel to caress them. He must have been looking longer than he thought, as when Charlie spoke again, it was in a low, husky voice, which was very much encouraging.

“Touch me if you like... I've been waiting since we got here for you to pounce on me... and you bloody wouldn't because you're such a... stiff... prick.”  
“I assure you, Weasley, had I had one of those, I might not have been able to refrain from touching you.”

Charlie snorted and rolled to the side as Severus tugged at the duvet to put it over his body, which was cold all over.

“Getting in with me?” Charlie asked sleepily. “I might not sleep without my new teddy bear...”  
“I'm still not impressed with you, Weasley, after your little tantrum this morning and then getting yourself injured-”  
“Shut up,” Charlie begged. “Have a go in the morning. Just not now?”

Severus made the mistake of glancing at the man's pleading amber-brown eyes. Something inside of him cracked, and he knew there was no going back.

***

It felt good to be back in his own rooms again, Severus thought, looking around the cool dungeon sitting room with its roaring fire and home comforts littered around the space. His favourite armchair had been waiting for him like an old lover -ready to cushion his body and warm him up. The whisky was just a short reach away.

There had been points in his life when he could remember not sleeping in his own bed for nights on end, and it had never bothered him. Now that he was older, however, he found it hard to be away from his possessions and his comforts, and returning to them was a blissful relief. It had taken them a good while to escape the congratulations of Minerva, who had been cooing over Charlie's recently healed leg and their successes on the trip as a whole. Charlie had shuffled off to his quarters looking tired but pleased with himself, and Sprout looked to be in her usual effervescent form. Severus had merely felt tired, and retreated to his rooms for a long hot bath and then some time at his desk, catching up on his correspondence. He was sitting in total peace and quiet listening to the fire crackling away. It was such quiet which enabled him to hear the gentle scrape on the floor; when he turned to look, a square of parchment had been pushed beneath his door.

Severus walked over to it and unfolded the paper.

_'Your rooms or mine?'_

There was no name, not even an initial, but there was no need. He wrenched open the door, hoping to catch the man still in the corridor, but as he stepped out, there was nobody in sight.

“Damn you,” he whispered to himself.

At that point, darkness descended as warm hands slipped over his eyes and cut off his vision.

“Desist immediately.” He spat out the words, his body stiffening involuntarily.  
“You'll ruin my fun if you make me stop.” Charlie's voice was hot in his ear and Severus felt his heart calm a beat or two. “Just play along? For me?”  
“Play along with what?” Severus asked.  
“That'd be telling.”

Severus, for reasons he failed to understand, allowed himself to be steered back into his rooms and heard the door close behind them. He let himself be led through to his bedroom, where Charlie pushed him to sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Keep your eyes closed,” Charlie instructed.

Severus strained his ears for any hints of what might be going on, but came up with nothing.

“You can open them now,” Charlie said airily.

Severus nearly choked when he did. Charlie Weasley stood completely naked in the middle of his bedroom, cock lolling on full, copper-haired bollocks, and his delicious body alive with tattoos, scars and bruises from his recent run-in with the dragon. The bandages on his leg were gone, but Severus could see the scars which the break had caused, still fresh and painfully red. Severus could see a pierced nipple and coarse pubic and chest hair, all deliciously as fiery as that on the man's head.

“Yep, the carpet matches the curtains,” Charlie said, matter-of-factly. “That bother you?”  
“No,” Severus said, unable to find his voice. “I...”  
“Like it?” Charlie asked, walking towards him. “Love it? Want it? Want me?”

Severus could only nod as Charlie knelt over him, pushed him down onto his back, and kissed him, with tongue. They had kissed in the hotel room but it was nothing compared the jolts of shock which coursed through him at the feel of Charlie's body on top of him; he was so naked that Severus felt colour rising in his cheeks.

“Blushing? My, my,” Charlie teased. “Who'd've thought it?”  
“Shut your mouth,” Severus warned.  
“If I do that, then I can't do this...” Charlie ducked to one side and latched his warm mouth onto Severus' throat; he sucked, and Severus jumped when a moan escaped his own mouth in pleasure.

Charlie laughed and pulled up. Severus looked at his chest, at his defined pectorals and pierced nipple. The little bar was fascinating to him; it was the first he had ever seen. He had to fight to keep from licking his lips. Charlie Weasley was the tastiest morsel he had laid eyes on in a long time, however, and his body was not as good as controlling it's reactions as his brain was. He felt his clothed erection rubbing directly into Charlie's perineum and wanted to rock his hips to gain friction.

“I think you've got far too many clothes on,” Charlie advised him. “You need to be naked.”  
“No I don't. You're happy enough naked for the both of us.”  
“Do I detect some self-dislike?”  
“Try self-hatred, and don't dare to dream that you can cure me of it, either.”

Charlie looked down at him with warm eyes and Severus found it even harder than before not to melt at their gaze, not to suddenly break and give Charlie everything he wanted, including his naked body, even though he loathed it.

“A good lover can make you love yourself,” Charlie whispered, before nibbling at Severus' earlobe. “A good lover can make you feel so sexy you feel you could conquer the earth.”  
“And let me hazard a guess -you're that very lover: Charlie Weasley, saviour of the meek and self-loathing.”  
“Screw the meek, you're not meek... you're Severus Snape and you've got balls of steel.”  
“Actually, Weasley, my balls are quite like anybody else's. A good knee in the right place will bring me crashing down just like any other man.”  
“You have been brave,” Charlie said firmly, directly into Severus' ear. “You fought a war and played an important role and lived to tell the tale.”  
“Just. And not without penalty.”  
“We all incurred penalties, didn't matter what side we were on...”

Severus looked up at him as their eyes met again and allowed his lips to open so that breathing might become easier. Charlie studied him for a moment before ducking for another kiss.

“Can I stay?” Charlie whispered. “I don't want to be alone tonight.”  
“Why not?”  
“I've had enough of being alone.” The redhead pulled a face. “It's... well, lonely. And I think you're tired of being alone too.”  
“Don't presume to know me or know what I'm thinking,” Severus warned.  
“I know you're hard...” Charlie grinned, and ground down with his hips, trapping Severus' cock in between their bodies. “And I think you want to have sex with me...”  
“Charlie...” Severus faltered, feeling colour rising in his cheeks. He lowered his gaze and looked down at their chests. “It has been a long time since I had sex with anybody... and you are so young.”  
“Not that young, I'm thirty next month.”  
“And still twelve years younger than myself.”  
“Age is just a number.”  
“And Merlin was just a house elf.”  
“It can be a secret... nobody would ever have to know until you wanted them to know.”  
“And if there suddenly became nothing to know about? How would our working relationship be if one of us no longer wanted to be with the other?”

Severus frowned in dismay when Charlie simply laughed at him.

“What?” he asked, unable to help his frosty tone.  
“You'll never give me up once you've had me,” Charlie informed him. “And I'm not likely to give you up, either... I know you'll think I'm mental, but there's something about you which just says... long-term. And I'd like that. I like you, Severus. I like you a lot. I think I could learn to-”  
“Don't say that,” Severus said, putting his finger tips over Charlie's lips and closing them. “No. Please, do not mention that word.”

It was Charlie's turn to frown.

“I do not have very good luck with that word.” Severus licked his lower lip as he thought about how to explain. “That word is cursed to me. Whomever I speak it to dies. They don't return the sentiment... I would rather keep it out of discussion, if you don't mind.”  
“Severus, words can't be cursed.”  
“Well, maybe people can, then.”  
“Or maybe those people have just been incredibly unlucky and happiness is just waiting around the next corner for them.”  
“This is ridiculous,” Severus muttered, pushing at Charlie's shoulders. He noticed that both of their erections had wilted somewhat. “Get off me and put your clothes back on. And then return to your own quarters.”  
“You don't really want that.”

Severus struggled upright and allowed Charlie to flop onto his back, softening cock flopping with the movement. It was a challenge not to lean over and taste it.

“Why are you denying what you really want?” Charlie asked, his voice soft and far too attractive.  
“Why are you still here?” Severus asked bluntly.  
“Because I know I'll get you if I don't give up.”  
“Leave.”  
“Nope.”

Severus grunted and got to his feet. Charlie just smiled at him.

* * *

**One Year Later**

“Severus, just do this for me, please?”

Charlie stared at the man as they waited for the door to open; Severus was glaring at him, dressed in plain, dark Muggle clothing which suited him, but that the man himself loathed.

“I don't see why I should have to formally announce my sexuality to the world merely keep your little brother from feeling 'lonely'.”  
“You agreed to come,” Charlie muttered. “Fuck off home if you don't want to be here.”

Severus fell silent and said nothing and Charlie blinked, not for the first time wondering why on earth he was still with the ever-changing, terrifyingly obtuse partner who never seemed to take pleasure in doing something for his partner. All Charlie had asked was for one dinner with Harry and Ron to make Ron feel less like they were living in a separate world to everybody else.

Charlie was no fool; he knew there was history with both boys on the other side of the door which he could not understand, because he was not Severus. He knew that if it had perhaps been another brother and a slightly less important boyfriend, then there might not have been as much of a scowl on Severus' face as there currently was. He swallowed and knocked on the door again.

How they had lasted a year was in his opinion a miracle. They swung wildly between nights of immense passion to Severus thrusting him away and giving him the cold shoulder, sometimes for weeks on end, purely because the man didn't know how to cope with the emotions and responsibilities which came with being in a relationship. Even Charlie had found himself on the verge of calling everything off a few times; he'd known the wizard was complicated, but Severus Snape made the word 'complicated' look like a walk in the park compared to the sheer insanity of their relationship at times.

They had come a long way since their week in the Romanian dragon reserve, but Charlie often found himself even more bewildered than he had then. He had no idea how they even functioned. Severus was the most difficult human being he had ever come across.

_And here you are, about to introduce him as your lover to your littlest brother and saviour of the Wizarding world as your actual lover._ Charlie knew that after the little incident the year before involving their hotel room, the boys might have guessed something was going on. They had never been told officially, however: nobody had.

“Fuck it, Severus, just go home,” Charlie breathed finally. “I'll have dinner with them by myself.”  
“Charlie-”  
“I mean it, go.”  
“Don't be ridiculo-”

Severus cut off abruptly as the door swung open, revealing Harry Potter with his glasses slightly askew, a cigarette hanging from the fingers of one hand and a glass of wine in the other. He had something that looked like flour all over a black t-shirt.

“Harry,” Charlie said bracingly. “How're you?”

There was no answer, because Harry was staring open-mouthed at the second guest on his doorstep. Charlie swallowed the unease in his throat and reached out to take the cigarette from the man's fingers. He sucked on it and allowed the nicotine to calm his nerves.

“Potter,” Severus said, nodding to him.  
“Snape,” Harry responded, eyes still wide with surprise. “Charlie... what's going on?”  
“You told me to bring my partner. So I did.” Charlie took another drag from the cigarette and then handed it back to Harry. “Can we come in, or are we eating dinner out here?”  
“Uh, sure, yeah... come in...”

Harry stepped back to allow them to pass, but never took his eyes off Severus. Charlie unzipped his jacket and shrugged out of it, hanging it in the usual place on the coat hooks. He held his hand out for Severus' coat and took it, surprised that the man hadn't legged it when Harry had opened the door.

Grimmauld Place had changed substantially since the war, Charlie thought, looking around at the light décor and thick carpets. Harry had completely renovated the space. Even the portrait of the house's former Mistress had somehow been removed. Harry noticed him looking and shot him a grin.

“It's a bit demoralising to have the fact you're a stinking, filthy homosexual screamed at you every morning, don't you think? Best money I ever spent, getting rid of that old hag.” Harry's voice turned cheerful and he began to lead the way down to the kitchen.  
“She was a right old treat,” Charlie agreed, making sure that Severus was following them with a quick glance over his shoulder; he met the man's eyes and silently pleaded.

Nothing more was said as Harry proceeded to lead them down to the kitchen, which Charlie was pleased to find had also been brightened with numerous candle fittings and a good coat of ivory paint. The fittings had all been replaced and, generally, was a massive improvement to what he remembered.

“Sorry, food crisis,” Ron said, without looking over his shoulder. “But I think I rescued it. Sit down, drink, dinner will be ready next century.”  
“I thought you could cook these days?” Charlie teased, sitting down at the already-laid table.

It screamed wealth, from the heavy linen to the good silver and the wine glasses. A quick glance at both men saw them dressed well. Something squelched in his chest -happiness that Ron had landed so well, and that he was doing so well for himself. They too were living in relative secrecy. Charlie knew of their relationship, but as far as he knew, he was the only one; they passed it off as sharing a house as young blokes together. Anyone who looked closely would probably guess that they were sharing the same bed, too.

“Harry, the house looks amazing.”  
“Probably a lot different to the last time you were here... during the war...”  
“Dingier than a hag's knickers back then,” Charlie confirmed with a grin. “But now... wow. Must have taken a lot of work to get it looking like this?”  
“Not my work.” Harry laughed. “I couldn't face it, so... I just gave in and paid someone else to do it for me. It was the right choice, because one of them got attacked by a doxy infestation and he was temporarily blind for three months.”

There was a snort to his right and Charlie nearly gave himself whiplash with the speed that he looked at Severus.

“Potter, you could have sneezed on this house and it still would have been an improvement. The work is frankly astonishing.”  
“The last time you would have been here was when you-”  
“Broke in, yes, Potter. You have had my atonement for that. Would you like it again?”

Silence fell over the kitchen, and Charlie had completely forgotten Ron standing over by the stove, who had no idea who his second guest for the evening actually was. But when he looked, Ron had turned, and his face was impassive.

“Charlie, I told you to bring your partner, not a colleague.”

Harry snorted. “Ron, I love you, but you're really dim at times, d'you know that?”  
“Oi!” Ron protested, his cheeks reddening with embarrassment.  
“I think Charlie's point is, my love, that Severus _is_ his partner.”  
“ _Oh._ ”

Ron seemed to have frozen, unable to say anything else. Charlie glanced at Severus.

“Look-”  
“Severus, would you like some wine?” Ron's voice was polite and far too formal, but Charlie could have kissed him for the sudden olive branch and acceptance.  
“Yes, thank you. I'd like that,” Severus answered, equally as formal.

Charlie swapped a bewildered glance with Harry as Ron picked up a bottle of red from the worktop and moved to fill Severus' glass. He filled Charlie's afterwards without even asking if he wanted any. On the way back to the stove, he took a hefty swig straight from the bottle neck and gulped it down. Only then did he cough and relax his shoulders.

“So, how long has this been going on?” he asked, picking up a spoon and stirring a pan.  
“About a year.”  
“Same as us, then.” Harry frowned.  
“And nobody knows?” Ron enquired.  
“Well, you two know, now.”  
“Is it serious?” Harry asked.

Ordinarily, Charlie might have told him to fuck off, but Harry was as much a part of the Weasley family as any one of his brothers, and he felt, oddly, like he owed him some honesty considering the history between Severus and himself. He opened his mouth to answer when Severus beat him to it.

“As serious as any relationship can be after a year, Potter. I am somewhat attached to the lunatic sitting next to me. Apparently, for reasons I cannot fathom, he feels the same way about me. So in answer to your question, yes, it is serious.”  
“Do you ever answer anything with a simple yes or no?” Harry asked, rolling his eyes.  
“Absolutely not.”  
“Good luck with that,” Harry said to Charlie with a teasing grin.

***  
“Was that mum's recipe?” Charlie asked, chucking down his spoon and relishing the taste of home made custard and apple crumble in his mouth.  
“Of course it was, why would I use anything else?” Ron laughed and emptied his wine glass. “You can't beat it. Harry made it though. Which is why he looks like we had a food fight before you arrived.”  
“I did wonder.” Charlie smiled at Harry, who was looking more relaxed than he had ever seen him, on Ron's left hand side. He had one arm around Ron's shoulders. “Thought it might just be a new look you were going for.”  
“I could make it work.”  
“Can I smoke?” Charlie asked, checking that everyone had finished their food.  
“No,” Ron and Severus answered together. “Disgusting habit.”

It took three seconds for them all to descend into laughter.

“Come outside to the garden?” Harry suggested. “And then the killjoys can sit here and not pollute their lungs in their usual self-righteous manner.”  
“They're herbal,” Charlie protested. “They're not even bloody dangerous... not like Muggle ones.”  
“You're still addicted to them,” Severus pointed out. “They still contain nicotine.”  
“But no tar to turn my lungs black.” Charlie stuck his tongue out and got up. “Don't kill each other,” he advised Ron and Severus, and followed Harry up out of the kitchen.

The night was cool as they stepped out into the small courtyard that Grimmauld Place called a garden. Harry led the way to a wooden bench in the centre and sat down on it, already pulling a packet of cigarettes out of his pocket as he went. He passed one to Charlie and then lit it with his Muggle lighter.

“I hope you know what you're doing,” Harry said softly, leaning back against the frame of the bench. “Snape's a...”  
“Handful. Trust me, I know.” Charlie laughed to himself and folded his arms over his chest.  
“I don't get it... I would never have thought in a million years he'd be gay... after all he went through in the war...”  
“He doesn't talk about it. He doesn't mention her.”

Charlie had known what Harry was getting at; as far as Harry was concerned, Severus had been madly in love with his mother, and had fought a war for her memory and protected Harry's very life as payment for his sins.

“But he does keep a picture of her he doesn't think that I know about. I think he still loves her, Harry... but I think he's forced himself to move on.”  
“I don't know how you love two people at once.”  
“I do,” Charlie assured him. “I know how you can carry different people around in your heart and love them as equally as each other. “It's entirely possible, Harry. I'm doing it right now.”  
“You love him?”  
“Yeah, but don't tell the bugger I said that. He'd probably run for the hills.” Charlie sighed.

He didn't know when he had come to the decision that what he felt for Severus had burgeoned into full on love. He hadn't said a word about it, keeping the sentiment locked tightly away.

“Why haven't you told anyone you're with him?”  
“Because he wants to keep it a secret.”  
“That must be hard for you.”  
“It is, but I know he's not ashamed of me... if anything, he's ashamed of himself. I don't think he's completely comfortable with his sexuality... or himself, in any sense of the matter.”  
“Charlie... why do you never make things easy for yourself?”

Harry's expression was one of worry.

“What do you mean?”  
“You left your job after the war and everyone could see how much that cost you. Then you moved back in to the Burrow, and everyone could see how much that crushed your soul. And now you've taken a job teaching, which I'm not convinced you really like, and you're with a man that could really hurt you.”  
“I like teaching,” Charlie protested. “I do. And I get to work with animals. I like it, Harry.”  
“But you don't love it.”  
“People can't always 'love' their employment, Harry. I had great years on the reserve... but it was time for it to end. Everything happens for a reason, I'm a firm believer of that.”

They fell silent, each of them smoking their respective cigarette, and Charlie kept his eyes on the grass. He had no idea that Harry felt so protective over him, but was touched all the same. Harry's concerns had been Charlie's own for a year, but he wouldn't admit that. With each passing day he found himself longing to return to the reserve more and more, because he knew that was where he belonged. The castle was nice and his pay was extremely comfortable. He'd saved more in his year teaching than he could have in three at the reserve. The job satisfaction was no where near as high, however.

“We'd best get back. Godric only knows how many times Ron's put his foot in his mouth since we've been gone,” Harry advised. “I thought he was going to have a fit when he realised who you'd brought.”  
“I'll talk to him.” Charlie sighed. “Big shock, I know... but...” he shrugged. “I don't really care what either of you think, to be honest. Severus is my choice.”  
“He's attractive in his own ways... he has this presence which is unrivalled. He can hold you with a single word.”  
“Mm,” Charlie agreed. “We'd best be off, anyway. He's an old man, and it's past his bedtime.”  
“I was going to suggest that you stay, actually. I've got more bedrooms than I need and they're never used.”  
“I'm not sure Severus will be up for that. Very private...”  
“Well, the offer's there.”

***

“What did you and Ron talk about when Harry and I were smoking in the garden like naughty schoolboys?” Charlie asked, unable to keep the question in any longer as soon as he had shut the door on their borrowed bedroom for the night.

He had been stunned when Severus had accepted Harry's invitation to stay the night at Grimmauld. The room was large and luxurious, with an en-suite bathroom which ensured even more privacy than Charlie had originally anticipated.

“Your brother used the time to thoroughly grill me about my intentions with his big brother.” Severus smiled to himself as he folded his trousers over the back of a chair.  
“Really? And what did you say?”  
“I told him to politely mind his own business, but assured him that I meant you no harm and that my only wish was to ensure that you were content.”  
“And what did he say?”  
“He told me to 'cut the bollocks' and tell him what was really going on.”  
“And then what did you say?” Charlie asked eagerly.  
“I told him that we were growing increasingly attached and that I didn't foresee the relationship ending anywhere in the near future. He seemed happy with that and let the subject go.”

Charlie just stared at him.

“Why do you look so surprised? What did you want me to do, hex him dead on the kitchen floor for caring about his brother?” Severus frowned.  
“No... I just... I didn't think you'd...”  
“That I'd what?”  
“Be so forthcoming. You're so secretive about all of this, Severus. I've told nobody for a year... and now... now you've told Ron things and it's a bit confusing, that's all.”  
“I told him nothing he had not already guessed... we'd come to dinner here as partners. It was obvious.”

Charlie nodded and got to his feet. He drifted to the window and looked down at the courtyard where he and Harry had sat smoking together.

“What did you and Potter talk about?” Severus asked, turning the conversation back on him.  
“Harry didn't understand you,” Charlie said softly, putting his finger up to trace the pad over the cold window pane. “He didn't understand how you could go from loving his mother so much to being gay and being with me. He was worried for me.”

Severus said nothing and Charlie closed his eyes, convinced that after a year he had finally breached the one topic which Severus would leave him over. It was never discussed, and never even hinted at. When warm arms enveloped him from behind, Charlie jumped. Severus' chin came to rest on his shoulder.

“Do you not think the reason why I have been so nervous about this evening was that very question, Charlie? The boy has the image of me besotted with his mother in his head, and by all accounts, I was. I loved her then and I love her still.”  
“I know you have a picture of her in your bedside drawer. I found it by accident.”  
“The same as you have a picture of a boy in your rooms at Hogwarts that I don't know about. I have never asked who he is. The past is the past. Lily Evans is my past. The past will always linger, but should that mean we are never to have a future?”  
“I don't know...” Charlie whispered. “It depends on how strong a hold the past has over us. You once told me that it was the past which made you as you are.”

Severus' kiss, when it came, was soft on the skin of Charlie's cheek. It lingered, spreading heat through the rest of his face and down into his throat.

“You seem unhappy,” Severus said sadly.  
“I'm...” Charlie hesitated, wondering whether his words would anger Severus. “I'm missing home.”  
“Then you should request some leave and go back to Romania for a time.”

Charlie wondered how the man had known.

“You forget, my attraction for you grew when you were in Romania, Charlie. I saw you at home, in your element. You are a different person here. No less beautiful or lovable, but different. You aren't happy here.”  
“If I go back to Romania, you won't be there.”  
“No.”  
“So what the hell am I meant to do?” Charlie breathed, closing his eyes and allowing himself to lean back against Severus' lean form.  
“You're going to come to bed, and you're going to let me make love to you, and then you're going to go to sleep, Charlie, and think about it all in the morning. Nothing good ever comes of making life changing decisions at one in the morning after several glasses of red wine.”  
“You sound like you speak from experience.”  
“I do.”

Charlie allowed himself to be led to the bed and be pushed down upon it. Severus hovered over him, brushing hair from Charlie's brow and looking at him with concerned eyes.

 

 

Only later, when his body had stretched and Severus was buried deep within his backside, did Charlie feel relief pricking at every inch of his flesh. He clung to the man on top of him, biting his lip to keep from screaming as his prostate was brushed with every thrust of Severus' hips. Severus was panting, his face flushed from the exertion, and Charlie saw the bite marks on the man's throat which he had left there in a fit of passion before they had melted together.

Severus made a sound which told Charlie that it was nearly all over. Charlie was nowhere near finished, his cock still slipping between their bellies in his pre-come. He didn't care, however, when Severus froze and jerked off rhythm, and a jet of heat shot deep into his body. Charlie revelled in the sensation as Severus filled him with his seed. It was something he'd always adored, but with Severus, it was even better. Charlie relaxed the muscles in his buttocks and allowed Severus to come to a halt. They met in a clumsy kiss.

“You didn't finish,” Severus murmured against his lips.  
“No.”

Charlie curled his toes as Severus' fingers wormed between their bodies and picked up his cock. It was red hot and the fingers were cool, and the sensation was heavenly. Severus began to work him, quickly stroking his cock and working the flesh with all the talent that he possessed; it didn't take long to bring Charlie to the edge. A thumb over his slit nearly sent him sailing over it. When Severus bent and captured his pierced nipple in between his lips, Charlie willingly threw himself over the edge. The orgasm was hard and fast and ridiculously short, but it satisfied him to the core as he spurted come over his abdomen.

He snatched a kiss from Severus' lips and relaxed back into the bed, enjoying the way that tension dribbled out of every muscle in his body. His mind was swimming but he finally felt tranquil.

“Charlie, what if I were to say to you that I would move to Romania with you?”  
“Then you would make me the happiest man in the world.”

Severus nodded, his dark, tousled hair swinging in front of his eyes. Charlie looked up at him, enjoying the lazy contentment in the man's expression. There were no lines to be found, no scowl, no unhappiness. Severus was happy to be with him.

“We have been together for nearly a year,” Severus observed.  
“Mm.”  
“Long at times and yet it seems to have flown by without our notice.”  
“They always go that way when you're in love.”

Charlie faltered; he had spoken without thinking.

“Yes, they do.”

_-fin-_   



End file.
